Possible problem(???) with zebra finch pair who have a chick

[cathodoer]

I'm 100% new to birds and chicks, this is the first chick I've ever had in my home and the first of my birds that's ever bred. They laid four eggs but due to the fact they weren't incubating them at night when I would cover them (until I bought some of those battery operated candles for them) only one hatched, their first baby, and this chick is about 12 days old now.

It's doing really well, it finally opened its eyes a couple days ago and is begging well for food but I've noticed the parents aren't caring for it much anymore. I assume it's too big to sit on now and it does keep itself warm well enough but they just aren't tending to it much and I don't know if that's normal or not. They'll look at it in the nest and ignore it, almost. They'll usually feed it when I hear it crying for food but that's all they do. In fact yesterday I had to remove the majority of their perches aside from one near their nest because they just wouldn't go near the nest at all to feed the baby. It worked but I'm not sure it will again.

My biggest concern is when they were incubating the eggs they weren't attempting to mate at all and they hadn't done so until yesterday. They're mating again now even though they still have a baby to look after and I don't know if they should be doing that or not, but it's really worrying me. From what I saw when they were laying their first clutch is it took about a week for the first egg to be laid and then one was laid each day after that, which I think is too soon before baby is ready to leave the nest. It can't even hold its head up yet. Is this all normal or is it looking bad? If it is looking bad I don't have any hand rearing equipment and I have a whopping total of £14 in my bank account so I don't think I have enough to buy anything either. I'm not sure what to do or what's normal for zebra finches.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[lovezebs]

cathodoer


Welcome to the Forum, however I wish it was under better circumstanuces.

If your baby is too weak to hold his head up at 12 days, then he's in trouble. It would appear that the parents are not feeding it enough.

I'm afraid that without some handfeeding formula and handfeeding it, this baby might not survive.

Are the parents still feeding at all? Is the baby still begging to be fed?

[cathodoer]

cathodoer


Welcome to the Forum, however I wish it was under better circumstanuces...

The parents are still feeding it whenever it begs that's the most attention they pay it, I'm not sure how much they feed it though. They seem to do it regularly but baby may be struggling.. I've noticed after they feed it sometimes its crop seems to be full of food but also air, like it has two big air bubbles to the sides of it's head. They go away once the food is done being digested but I thought I'd mention it in case that's a bad thing. I tried to "burp" him at one point but it didn't work, he was very fussy about it.

The chick always seems to be very tired and always sleeping.. not much activity from it other than begging for food.

[lovezebs]

cathodoer

If the parents are feeding, I would leave them to it.

Some air in the crop is normal, and will resolve itself. Don't attempt to burp the baby, as it may aspirate and die. Baby birds, don't need to be burped

If the baby is feathered, then the parents will not spend a lot of time with him any longer as he can keep himself warm.

If baby is begging, and you're seeing them feeding, and there is food in baby's crop, then things should be ok.

[cathodoer]

Thank you so much for the advice. Baby is starting to grow its feathers so that's probably why they don't sit on it occasionally to keep it warm. I feel so bad about the burping now, I read somewhere that was what I should do! No wonder it wasn't working haha. I guess he's just happy to eat and swallowing too much air.

I'll leave them to it but I'll keep an eye on them as well, just in case.. Still concerned about the mating but maybe they're just preparing for their next clutch after this one. Thank you for the reply, I was so nervous about it. I didn't want a dead baby bird on my hands!

[lovezebs]

cathodoer

Usually the parents will start getting ready for another clutch before babies leave the nest, so it is not unusual.

Mum, might even lay some eggs in the nest, with baby still in there, using baby as a hot water bottle to keep the egg-sibs warm.

Don't feel too bad about the burping.
I know that some people believe in it (most especially with handfed chicks, who tend to swallow more air when fed)), but in most cases there is no need, and can cause more harm than good).

Make sure to offer your parents a bit of mashed hard boiled eggs to feed the baby (a very important source of protein which helps with chick development and feather growth). Also save the egg shells, dry and crush them, offering them to your birds (a very important source of calcium, and most important for your Mum bird, who uses Calcium from her own body to make the eggs she lays).

Enjoy your birds